3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water
The night before:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and
yeast. Add water and mix until all the flour is mixed in. Cover bowl with plastic
wrap and set aside (not in the fridge) for 12-18 hours.
The next day:
Heat oven
to 450 degrees. When the oven has
reached 450 degrees, place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven* and heat the
pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour
dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape (roughly) into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while the
pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the
oven and drop in the dough. (I spray my hands with cooking spray first.) Cover and
return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30
minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, depending on how dark you like your crust. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling
rack to cool.
*You don't have to have a cast iron pot for this. Anything that can take the heat, will hold at least 2.5 quarts, and has a tight-fitting lid will work. I use my Calphalon dutch oven or a round Corningware casserole dish. I've also heard of people successfully using clay pots with lids, a pizza stone with a bowl to cover the bread, the insert of a crock pot (as long as the lid's handle isn't plastic), or an old cast iron dutch oven. You could probably also use a baking dish covered with aluminum foil.
